


Blue

by The_Jade_Goblin



Series: Vakarian Blue & N7 Red [1]
Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Serious fluff, domestic! shakarian
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-20
Updated: 2017-05-20
Packaged: 2018-11-02 19:51:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10951551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Jade_Goblin/pseuds/The_Jade_Goblin
Summary: When Shepard interrupts Garrus re-painting his clan markings, the two get talking, about marriage, tradition, and life.Garrus sums up the courage to make a proposal. Of sorts.





	Blue

Garrus dipped the brush into the pot of blue paint, lathering the bristles in the blue before lifting it to his face, beginning to trace the Vakarian clan markings over his cheek.

He paused when the door slid open gently, and Shepard came tiredly sauntering in, clad in her work out clothes and N7 hoodie.

Her knuckles, customarily bruised whenever she came back from sparring with Vega, were stained with blood. But, from a look to her face, Garrus knew the blood didn’t belong to her.

“Hey honey,” she greeted as she shrugged herself out of her hoodie, leaving her in her black tanktop.

“Rough day?” Garrus quiered.

Shepard often went to spar with James when she’d had a bad day. When she had a really bad day, she’d drag Garrus to a shooting range.

“Oh you know, just the Council being the unhelpful dicks they usually are. Nothing new there.” She muttered in response.

“Can’t say I’m surprised.”

“Yeah well, screw them. I don’t care anymore,” Shepard sighed.

She came over and sat on the edge of the vanity where Garrus was sitting in front of the mirror.

“Whatcha doin?”

“Just reapplying my face paint.”

“Honestly I don’t recognise you with it.” Shepard smirked. “When do turians start wearing their clan marks?”

“When we come of age. That’s usually after boot camp, but in some extreme circumstances like war, it comes before so they can enter the army. Once we pass boot camp, we receive our clan markings and are old enough to join the army and to marry.” Garrus said.

“I knew turians were a military culture, but all turians go to boot camp? How does a turian go about pursuing any other kind of career? Do you have schools like we do?” Shepard tilted her head to one side curiously.

“Entering the army isn’t mandatory, but most turians end up there. Discipline is just part of who we are, but there are plenty of turians who go to schools to learn other skills so they can do other jobs. If everyone was part of the army we’d have no economy, but it trains the people so when we enter wars the entire population is capable of defending themselves, and fighting if need be – even civilian children.”

“Huh. Smart.” Shepard said. “Did you ever think about doing anything else Garrus?”

“I wasn’t given much choice, the Vakarian clan are known for their military service. My dad wanted me to join C-Sec like him, so I did.”

“You mentioned wanting to paint once,”

“Oh that was mostly a throwaway thought, I don’t mind being the best sniper in the galaxy.”

Shepard rolled her eyes. “I told you it was windy up there.”

“Uh-huh. Of course it was sweetie.” Garrus teased.

“I hate you.”

“Love you too Dani.”

Shepard playfully shoved the turian, to which he only chuckled in response.

“Can I try?” Shepard asked. She gestured to the paintbrush when Garrus gave her a confused look.

“Oh I uh – yeah – if you’d like,” he stammered.

Shepard smiled, and took the brush from his hands, dipping it into the paint before lifting it to his face.

“Okay hold still.” Using one had to keep his face still, she brushed gently over his cheek plates to trace the blue line down to his nose.

Garrus went still, and quiet, staring at Shepard as she concentrated on his face and not messing up the markings.

He studied her face – the delicate freckles, the scars, the nose that had been broken and rebroken so many times, eyes that never lost their piercing look – and felt breathing getting harder.

This was an intimate act after all, and he trusted Shepard with it, of course he trusted her with his life, but it was another step in their relationship she walked into so confidently, while he stammered and stumbled over his words.

“You know, usually only mates do this for each other.” He said quietly.

Shepard’s eyes flickered from the face paint to his eyes, and her smile softened.

“Then thank you for trusting me. If I had clan markings I’d let you paint them on me too.”

“I can. I mean, I can paint mine on you – if you’d like.” Garrus stuttered.

“Is that allowed?” Shepard asked, amused.

“Technically not until we’re married, but I’ve never been a very good turian anyway.” Garrus shrugged. “And I won’t lie I’ve been thinking about it for some time now…there’s a certain…possessiveness that comes with thinking of you in Vakarian marks.”

“Ooh I love it when you get like that.” Shepard winked, handing him back the paint and the brush. “Do it, I want to see how it looks on me.”

“Since your skin is soft, and is round, I’ll have to modify it a little.”

Garrus found it a little difficult to keep his hand steady as he brushed the paintbrush over Shepard’s skin, staining it with Vakarian blue.

A carnal need bubbled in his chest, his heart thumped loudly as he slowly made the Vakarian markings of Shepard’s skin. Over _his_ Shepard’s skin. She was his.

“Would this be what you’d do if we got married?” Shepard asked softly.

Garrus nodded. “You’d be joining the Vakarian clan, as your husband I’d wash off your clan markings, and paint this on you at the wedding ceremony to signify the passing of you from your clan to mine. If you were turian anyway, you don’t have a clan of your own since you’re human.”

“I kind of do. When I was in N7 training the other cadets and I would paint two red stripes under our eyes during skirmishes, since the N7 stripe was red. It made us feel like part of a group. That’s why I always wear N7 marked things when I’m off-duty.”

“The N7 program became like a clan.” Garrus said. “Turians would understand that, clans don’t always have to be blood-related. There, I’m done.”

Shepard looked into the mirror, tilting her head this way and that to look at the blue lines over her face.

“How do I look?”

“Perfect.” Garrus breathed.

Shepard smiled. “Do you think I’d make a good Vakarian?”

“You’d make a better one than me.” Garrus replied.

“I doubt it. Your family would hardly approve of a human joining the clan,” Shepard said mildly. “I wouldn’t be very popular I don’t think.”

“To the older relations maybe, but they’d just be jealous that better you look so good in Vakarian blue. It suits you.”

“Yeah, I think it does too.” Shepard said, turning back to the mirror to admire her new look. “I like it. Feels like family.”

“It could be you know.”

Shepard turned to Garrus quizzically.

“I mean, you could be family. Become a Vakarian I mean, properly. Then you could wear them all the time, if you like them, and they suit you, they really do. Of course you could keep the name Shepard I wouldn’t ask you to change that if you didn’t want to, but you could still be part of the clan, you know, if you wanted –”

“Garrus are you asking me to marry you?” Shepard cut in.

“I – yes.” Garrus stammered, forcing himself to keep looking her in the eye. “I’ve been trying to work out how to for longer than I should admit, I’m unfamiliar with human traditions surrounding marriage proposals and you deserve nothing but the best, I wanted it to be perfect.”

“Garrus you don’t have to –”

“No, I want this to be perfect. Let me say this.” Garrus said. Shepard silenced, and Garrus took her hands in his.

“Dani you and I have been through so much together, we’ve seen some terrible things, gone on crazy adventures, and lost each other a few times along the way. And I wouldn’t do anything different, I don’t regret a single second choosing to come with you on the Normandy, even if the times when I was without you were the hardest times of my life, I wouldn’t trade my time with you for anything in the galaxy. There’s no one I respect more in this galaxy, and no one I love more, than you. I’ve loved you for so long I don’t remember what it was like living without you, and the only thing I’ve regretted in my life is not telling you on the SR-1 that I loved you, and thinking I lost you forever without having said it.”

Shepard was tearing up, and even as the tears started to roll down her cheeks, Garrus kept his eyes locked with hers.

“You are the most beautiful, most intelligent, and most deadly woman I have ever met. I don’t know how the hell a turian like me ended up with a girl like you, but I am so, so honoured to have served with you, and fought together with you as friends, and I’m the luckiest guy in the damn galaxy that you love me, of all the people you could have chosen, you chose me. And if Reapers can’t take you away from me, I’ll be damned if I let old prejudice and tradition get in the way. I love you Dani, and I’m asking you if you be my wife?”

“Garrus…” Shepard could hardly see from the tears in her eyes, but she was smiling so much her cheeks hurt. “Of all the wonderful people, I’ve had the privilege of calling friend, you’re the one who has always, _always_ stood by me through everything and anything. You’ve watched my six from the day we met and you always know just how to make me feel better when I’m down. I couldn’t have asked for a more loyal friend, or a more caring partner. You make me happier than I have ever been in my life Garrus Vakarian, you’re more than I deserve, but I can’t ever let you go. I would be honoured to call myself your wife.”

Shepard had never seen Garrus smile so wide than it that moment. Shepard squealed and laughed as he gathered her in his arms, stood up and spun her around. She wrapped her legs around him and let her carry her around the room as they kissed, laughed and cried (though neither of them would admit they cried to anyone).

“Ready to be Mrs Garrus Vakarian?” Garrus teased.

“More than ready.” Shepard replied.

“Vakarian blue really does suit you Dani…”

“Oh? Is it turning you on?” Shepard said huskily.

“You have no idea.” Garrus half-growled.

“Then why don’t you show me big guy?” Shepard smirked.

Garrus threw her to the bed, and did just that.

 

* * *

 

An hour or so later, Garrus was woken from his semi-dozing state by a faint shriek coming from the bathroom.

“Um, Gare?” Shepard called.

“Yeah?”

“I think I might be having an allergic reaction to that paint of yours.” She poked her around out of the bathroom, and Garrus saw the damage.

Her face where the paint had touched was red, and beginning to swell into bubbles of blood-red pockets, that looked painful enough, but to add to it the bubbles where scarring, the scars spreading across her face like a rash.

“Shit.” Garrus swore.

“Chakwas?”

“Chakwas. _Now_.”


End file.
